Tomasso Russo - Montesarchio

[lisagooley]

I am looking for more information about my Grandfathers line.

His Name: Carminantonio Russo
Born: Feb 15, 1891
Place: Montesarchio, Italy
Fathers Name: Tomasso Russo
Mothers Name: Cristina Leocchi This I got from his marriage license - but I can't be sure of the spelling of the name. I have not found anything similar in my searches on Ancestry, LDS Family Search etc.)

I have or found his immigration records, 1930 Census (showing my Uncle Thomas), 2 marriage applications for 1921 (sent away for them), his application for US Citizenship (handed down from my father) and his WWII Draft Card. My uncle Thomas died at age 20 - cancer.

He married Maria Michelina (or Michela depending on the document) Scialla in 1921 (2 times)

They had two sons: Thomas (1922) & John (1924)

Maria died in 1926 (unknown reason - I haven't sent for the death cert yet)

When she died my father was sent to live with family. This is the "family" that I don't know how we are connected to. I am in contact with a "cousin" and we are trying to find out.

The family my father lived with was:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Massimino Russo & Rosaria Acompora (2nd marriage - first was to a Parlato) Massimino's father was Gregorio Russo & mother was Ann Sabatino. This is the family I can't make a connection to. I don't know if Gregorio and my great-grandfather Tomasso were brothers or what.

This is the census information. The name was mistranslated to Fosso - I know this is my Dad, John - listed as a cousin.

1930 Census Record

Name: John Fosso
[John Joseph Russo]
Home in 1930: Orange, Essex, New Jersey
Age: 5
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1925
Relation to Head of House: Cousin
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Messenia Fosso 48
Rosina Fosso 51
Gregory Fosso 23
Anna Fosso 20
Susie Fosso 17
Edward Fosso 15
Herman Fosso 11
John Fosso 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On various records that I have (Baptism / Marriage etc.) it names other people that I have found to be connected to the family, but I haven't found THE link yet.

Stephanina or Stephania Russo / Luigi Russo (from the Russo, Nuara, Bonacqua family tree on Ancestry. This tree was created by another "cousin" who is also trying to find the missing link.)

Edwardo Delgiacco & Mrs. Edwardo Delgiacco (Mrs. Delgiacco's maiden name was Russo. Her first name Alessandra. Info can be found on the Russo, Nuara, Bonacqua family tree on Ancestry. I have been in contact with Edwardo's grandson also trying to make the connection.

I have also sent letters to Montesarchio (with and without money) asking for information and haven't received anything.

My next step is to bring the list of michrofiche numbers that I found on LDS to the local Family Center and wait for that to arrive.

I guess I would like to know this:

1) Does anyone have an address to which I can send requests in Montesarchio for birth information on my Grandfather?

2) Is there a way to know if he had siblings?

3) Does this information sound in anyway familiar to anyone currently researching Russo genealogy?

Sorry for the long post - I am just completely exhausted from this. I sit up until 2am sometimes just trying to figure out what the heck my grandfather meant to write when he penned his mothers maiden name!

[lisagooley]

I am also researching my Grandmother's family as well.

her father (according to marriage license) Giovanni Scialla
her Mother - Giovannia (or Giovanna) Ferraro

[lisagooley]

Sorry - forgot from where: Casa Giove, Caserta.

I found my grandmothers immigration record coming in as M. Michela Scialla to visit her uncle Pasquale Ferrara (or O).

I know nothing else.

[BillieDeKid]

There are LDS microfilms you can order for Casagiove 1866-1928 for birth, death, marriage etc.
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library ... +Casagiove++

The microfilms for Montesarchio only cover to 1866.

Hope this helps.

Elizabeth

[lisagooley]

Thank you very much for this information. I will include it with the "Russo" information when I go to the local Family History Center!

[lisagooley]

Here is my great-grandmothers name which was written by either my grandfather or grandmother on the 1921 Affidavit for License to Marry.

Can anyone make out the last name of Cristina?

[lisagooley]

Here is a second image, showing a different page where Cristina is listed as the mother of Carminantonio...seems to be written by a different hand.

[vj]

This may help, although none of the names listed
are currently in Benevento.

Names in Campania ending with the letters
_OSCHI (no double C found)

Aloschi
Boschi
Doschi
Foschi
Ieroschi
Loschi
Poschi
Toschi

From this site: http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/cognomi/cognomi.html

[lisagooley]

You know what? I was so focused on getting the first few letters right - I never considered that my grandfather mispelled the last part.

I am going to check this out - thanks!

[Biff83]

1)Does anyone have an address to which I can send requests in Montesarchio for birth information on my Grandfather?

2) Is there a way to know if he had siblings?

Here's the address for Montesarchio to request the birth information for your grandfather:

Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Comune di Montesarchio
Borgo San Francesco
82016 Montesarchio (BN)
ITALY

Your request should be in Italian. The link below is to an interactive letter generator which will help put your request into Italian. I would not include any money but would include a self-addressed envelope. I'd request an integral copy of his birth act--una copia integrale dell'atto di nascita. This should have more information than a birth extract. Besides his date of birth and parents' names, an integral copy of his birth act will likely include the time of his birth, ages and occupations of his parents, address where he was born and witness names. I've written for and received a number of these and have never been asked for money. You might want to use the letter generator to do your letter and then copy and paste it in the Translation forum for input before mailing it.
http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp

Once you've received his atto di nascita with his parents' names and ages, you can extrapolate his parents' approximate birth years and request a Certificato Storico di Famiglia. As long as they both were born and married in Montesarchio and all of their children were born in Montesarchio, the document should give you the information you were looking for. The downside to this is that there almost always is a charge for doing the research to issue a certificate. Usually a flat fee and then a per name charge which varies from town to town. Let's get your grandfather's birth act first though.

After you receive your grandfather's birth act, scan it and post a copy in the Translation forum here and folks will help translate it for you.

Here's a copy of Family Certificate of my great grandparents and their children so you can see what details it includes.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7690 ... ertxz5.jpg

Hope this helps.

Biff

[lisagooley]

Biff,

Thanks so much for the detailed reply.

How long did it take for you to get the reply when you sent in for the birth act? I sent one (using the form from the website you provided) around August or September (2007) and haven't gotten anything back yet.

I am not sure if the address that I had was exactly what you provided though - I am going to check.

Never-the-less, I am going to resend to the address you provided in hopes that it gets in the right hands this time. I realize that it might not be a priority on the receiving end - so I am trying to keep up hope.

It would be great to get the birthdates of my great-grandparents. And you are right, once I get that and can send for information about the family, marriage -- and maybe (???) my GG-grandparents!

Once you've received his atto di nascita with his parents' names and ages, you can extrapolate his parents' approximate birth years and request a Certificato Storico di Famiglia. As long as they both were born and married in Montesarchio and all of their children were born in Montesarchio, the document should give you the information you were looking for.

When you say "as long as they both were born and married in Montesarchio..." do you mean this document wouldn't be available to me if say, my grandmother was born in another commune...or that certain information would just be missing? I think it is the later - but I want to be sure.

Thanks again for your help!

[Biff83]

Lisa,

In the instances I requested birth/marriage documents, I received the copies in four weeks or less. I'm not sure why you haven't received a reply yet but I'd send another request. In the letter give as much information as you know about your grandfather--date of birth, father's name, mother's first name. The more information you provide will help facilitate the process.

Vital records are kept at the town level in Italy. So if your greatgrandmother Cristina was born in another town, it's unlikely that Montesarchio will have that information. Also, if she was from another town and she and Tommaso married there, that information might also be unavailable.

But first let's work on getting another request out for your grandfather's birth act. Use the letter generator and post what you come up with in the Translation section so it can be checked and critiqued before you send it. I've used the letter generator before but have had to tweak the results to add various details.

A presto,
Biff

[lisagooley]

Biff - again...thank you so much. I didn't even know there was a section for translation help on this site!

I will post there when I get the letter together with all the information.

Thanks again..
Lisa

[lisagooley]

Little Update:

Went through my documents & paperwork and found a document that I either forgot about or overlooked. I believe it to be in my grandfathers hand where he phonetically spelled out his mothers name as "Losky".

This fits with VJ's response to the spelling "Loschi" being the closest match (or at least that is what I assumed from the post!).

Thanks again everyone for your time and interest in helping people look for their family.

[vj]

Hi Lisa!
Thanks for the update - yes, I liked Loschi as a
good possibility.
Valarie